NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'promised to stand by' bureaucrats who take decisions and called for a review of archaic rules to simplify governance.

In a meeting on Wednesday evening with all secretaries of central government, Modi also called for 'simplifying and streamlining the administrative rules and procedures to make them people-friendly.'

Without mentioning the policy paralysis that had beset the UPA administration, the PM "empathised with the sentiment expressed by the secretaries and their anguish in not being able to realise their true potential because of circumstances" according to an official statement from the Prime Minister's office. Opening a direct line of communication with all the secretaries, the PM said he would be accessible to all of them and urged them to approach him with their ideas and inputs.

A freewheeling interaction on challenges facing the Indian economy where he sought top officials' views on tackling them, this was the first such meeting of its kind held by the Prime Minister with top officials without their ministers being present at the same time in eight years. Faster results, the PM told the 77 secretaries at the meeting, could only be achieved through collective action and urged them to work together with a team spirit.

"There may be rules and processes which have become outdated, and instead of serving the process of governance, they are leading to avoidable confusion. The PM stressed upon the need to identify and do away with such archaic rules and procedures," a PMO communique said. Modi, whose top two governance mantras for his ministers are to empower the bureaucracy and create an environment where officials can take innovative decisions, walked the talk and expressed confidence in officials' 'commitment and competence to build a better future for the country' by reviving the economy, giving a fillip to infrastructure projects and improving the investment climate.

"The process of governance of his government should begin with cleaning-up of the offices, improving the workplace, which would automatically result in a better work culture and efficient services to the citizens," the Prime Minister's Office statement said, adding that Modi stressed on the use of technology to improve the efficiencies of administration and improve the resolution of public grievances. The PM said that administrative and schematic convergence is possible by the use of technology and better understanding among departments.

"Modi offered that he would always be ready to give an account of the work being done by him. The senior bureaucrats echoed this sentiment and welcomed a similar standard of accountability," the official release said.

"It was a highly motivating experience and there was a great flow of ideas. This is the first time in my career that a free, frank and fearless interaction took place with the Prime Minister of the country," secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion Amitabh Kant noted on social media website Twitter after the nearly three and a half hours long meeting concluded.

"The PM did not want secretaries to speak only on their sectors, for which we have been asked to make presentations to him separately later. This interaction was on a much broader canvas," said a senior government official, adding that the PM heard their ideas and views for over two and a half hours.